Discovering the adversary, one day at a time

Brotherhood Project

June 09, 2013

I traveled to Turkey in March, as part of a class in public diplomacy, sponsored by George Mason University's Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution. During the trip, the class met with Syrians who were engaged in the early, non-violence movement. We also met with Turkish officials and academics, and visited a Syrian refugee camp in Nizip, Turkey. It was, to say the least, and interesting experience. I came to the class with boat-load of professional skepticism, and left with a much deeper appreciation of the immense complexity of the regional situation, from the geopolitical to the deeply personal perspectives.

Pre-trip research made me realize that Syria has been in a state of conflict since 1963, and to some extent that conflict has been "spilling over" since then. Whether it was the energy and idealism of the nonviolent activists or the former members of the Fighting Vanguard who went on to be some of the most influential jihadis of the movement. These exiles and expats have been playing a long, slow game against the Assad regime since at least the 1970s, with Muslim Brotherhood members being the most prominent of the group.

My counter-jihad career began, in ernest, in 2003, during brief stint as an FBI analyst. It was there that I was introduced to former members of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, and not in a good way. I'm unable to discuss the details of that experience, but my public skepticism about potential post-Assad governments is inspired by my experiences during that early period. If you've read my blog you'll know that I'm not a fan of the MB in general, but the Syrian branch inspires a particularly acute antagonism. As a result, I rarely mention them.

I've been in the middle of a personal Syria project for a few weeks, primarily as an effort to "find" a possible masters thesis idea. It was during this work that I came across the UK's Foreign Office correspondences accessible through the Adam Matthew Archive. The Syrian branch of the MB is little known, especially in English. Thomas Friedman and Robert Fisk seem to be the most prominent filters of "common" knowledge on the Syrian MB. The group's real history seems lost in the mists of Syrian instability.

To add a little more to the short bin of English-language historical knowledge of the group, I'm reproducing some of the passages on the group from years of FO correspondence, between 1947 and 1956. It's not much, but I suspect some of this information on a few of its early leaders is "new" to writers studying the group:

From a 25 February 1947 weekly report of political activities of the Syrian government, an account of the aftermath of a visit from Egyptian MB student rep, Mustafa Mumin:

"In the course of conversation with the oriental secretary Muhsen Bey Barazi, head of the President's Cabinet, remarked that the President was very displeased with the Egyptian Charge d'Affaires and the members of his staff for their activities among the Ikhwan al Muslimeen, particularly in connexion with the visit of Moustafa Mu'min (representative of the university graduates of the Egyptian Moslem Brethren) when one of the sheikhs of the Syrian Ikhwan made a speech in the Omayyad Mosque violently attacking British policy over the Sudan. The sheikh in question has been informed that he will be banished if any repetition occurs and Sheikh Moustafa Sebai, President of the Syrian Ikhwan al Muslimeen, has been told by the President that the Ikhwan al Muslimeen must not interfere in matters concerning international politics. The oriental secretary took the opportunity of mentioning the forthcoming visit of the Ashigga delegation, who are due to reach Damascus in a few days to present their views on the future of the Sudan. Muhsen Barazi gave an assurance that they would not be allowed to speak in the mosques nor to cause demonstrations but said that it would be hard to prevent the press from becoming violent in view of the freedom of expression which it was the policy of the present Government to allow. The oriental secretary pointed out that it would be most unfortunate if the Ashigga representatives were able to mislead the public by a press campaign into the view that they represent anything other than a very small proportion of Sudan opinion."

Among the annual correspondences regarding Syria, the FO published biographies of notable social and political actors, "Leading personalities in Syria." Several MB leaders show up on the list in successive years, including 1956:

"36. Dawalibi, Ma'ref

Born 1907 in Aleppo. Moslem. A lawyer. A graduate of the Syrian University, he also holds a Paris University Doctorate of Law. From 1936 to 1938 he was a member of the National Party and was active in both Aleppo and Damascus. During the war was in France at the time of the German occupation and was in close touch with the ex-Mufti Haj Amin Hussaini, Rushid Ali al Keilani and the other pro-German Arabs. Collaborated with the Vichy Government. Helped the ex-Mufti to escape from France in 1946 Elected to Parliament in 1947. he left the National Party and joined the Popular Party in 1948. Member of the Moslem Brotherhood. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in November 1949. Appointed Minister of National Economy in the Cabinet formed by Khalid al Azm on 27th December 1949. Resigned with the rest of the Cabinet in May 1950.

While in Cairo in April, 1950, made a statement indicating that the Arabs would prefer to become a Soviet Republic rather than be judaized as a result if American pressure. This statement caused something of a sensation and was the signal for a noisy demand in Syria, chiefly by the Moslem Brotherhood, for a rapprochement with the Soviet Union. Although the statement did him harm in responsible Syrian circles it boosted his popularity among the masses. Minister of National Economv under Nazim Qudsi (q.v.), 23rd to 27th March, 1951. After the fall Hakim's (q.v.) Government on 10th 'her he managed to form a Government. at the second attempt, on 28th November, but on 29th November its members were imprisoned by General Shishakli. Released in April 1952. but later taken into custody again. Refused to take the oath of non-participation in politics as a civil servant (lecturer at Syrian University) and was accordingly dismissed in May 1952. Released from prison by General Shishakli as an act of clemency in June 1953 of Shishakli was restored to his position in the university and was appointed Minister of Defence in Sabri Assali's coalition Cabinet March-June 1954 which fell partly as a result of the bad relations between Dawalibi and the army. Returned at the head of the poll for Aleppo as a Populist in the 1954 elections.

Poses as fanatic Moslem, is popular and a fair speaker. A trouble-maker, he is reputed to have Left-wing tendencies and ambitions to become President of the Republic."

"81. Mubarak, Muhamad

Born 1912 in Damascus. Sunni Moslem. Son of the late Abdul Qadir Mubarak (of Algerian origin), who was a prominent member of the Arab Academy, Damascus. Graduate of Syrian University, faculties of law, arts and sciences. Also holds a licence in literature from the Sorbonne. A teacher in the Government secondary school of Damascus, he later became an inspector of education. Leading member of the Ikhwan al Muslimeen and elected to Parliament in 1947 as their candidate. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in November 1949 as one of the candidates of the Islamic Socialist Front. Appointed Minister of Public Works in the Cabinet formed by Khalid al Azm in December 1949. Resigned with the rest of the Cabinet in May 1950. After Ma'ruf Dawalibi's Cairo statement in April 1950 Muhamad Mubarak, together with Shaikh Mustafa al Sibai and the rest of the Islamic Socialist Front, began publicly to advocate a rapprochement between the Arab States and the Soviet Union, and called for a treaty of friendship between Syria and the Soviet Union. They later ceased this clamour and even made statements against Communism. Allied with People's Party in 1951. Mubarak became Minister of Agriculture in Hassan Hakim's Government, August to November 1951, and in Ma'ruf Dawalibi's Government, 28th to 29th November. 1951. Imprisoned in January 1952 by General Shishakli when he and Mustafa Sibai showed signs of preparing to call out the mobs ostensibly in support of Egypt but really to upset or embarrass the regime. Officially resigned from the Brotherhood early in 1954 but this seemed to make little difference to his continuous political activity. He was persistently referred to as a Brotherhood candidate. Appointed as Syrian Minister at Tehran but, being returned for Damascus in the 1954 elections, he did not proceed."

"108. Sibai, Mustafa, Shaikh

Born in Horns about 1915. Moslem. Studied at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, where he was when Rashid All's rebellion took place in 1941. He was accused of having distributed a circular in Cairo calling on the Egyptian people to support the movement, was arrested by the Egyptian police and detained for some two months without trial; deported from Egypt and interned by the British authorities in Palestine at Sarafand for seven months. Repatriated to Syria, where he was again interned for two years, first at Mieh-Mieh and then at Rashaya; released early 1945, when he began to take a strong interest in the Moslem Brethren. Since 1946 he has been director of the Arab Institute in Damascus (a school run bv the Moslem Brethren). He is controller-general of the Moslem Brethren in both Svria and the Lebanon, and was one of the principal editors of El Manar newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Moslem Brethren until*its suppression in April 1949. El Manar reappeared in November 1949. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in November 194 chief representative of the newly-formed Islamic Socialist Front (= Moslem Brethren), of which he is the main spokesman. In 1950 together with Muhamad Mubarak publicly advocated a rapprochement with the Soviet Union.

Imprisoned by General Shishakli early in 1952 when he and Muhamad Mubarak showed signs of preparing to call out the mobs ostensibly in support of Egypt but really to upset or embarrass the regime. Re-elected in 1954 as Head of the Moslem Brotherhood in Syria after a split in the Brotherhood ranks had been healed during the visit to Syria in the summer of 1954 of Hudeibi, the Supreme Guide of the Brotherhood in Egypt. Did not stand in the 1954 elections for Parliament in which the Brotherhood was ostensibly neutral. Was prominent towards the end of 1954 as a consequence of the many demonstrations in Syria protesting against the attack by the Egyptian Government on the Brotherhood in Egypt. He is accused of being more interested in politics than in religion."

July 06, 2012

I tweeted this last week, but I forgot to post it to the blog. Consider it a curio from a different time. It's an English-language periodical, published in 1990 through a Cairo-based Muslim Brotherhood publishing house - Ummah Press Service. The Library of Congress record is here.

There are no bombshells in this document, but if you're an observer of the Egyptian Brotherhood - and you're reading about this for the first time - you may find this artifact something of interest. It, along with other English language Ummah Press Service publications, suggest that the editors had a Western audience in mind. It begs the question: whose ambition was it to reach an English-reading audience, and for what purpose?

Back in 2007, I posted on another Ummah Press Service publication, The West in the Eyes of the Egyptian Islamic Movement. That document (a copy of my original file can found here) was a discussion of the political distinctions and means of action between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian jihadi groups of the period, Jihad and Islamic Group.

The periodical linked here was part of an ambitious experiment to construct an English-language identity for the group. The experiment failed. There's little in the LC records to show that Ummah Press regularly produced English language material after the early 1990s. Perhaps this is what makes the Biannual Review so interesting. So little English-language scholarship about the Brotherhood exists from this time period. Of the 19 records drawn from the LC catalog, only one is in English. As a result, this tiny collection of English-language works, published in earnest by the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1990s, may be the only extant English-language primary source material of the period available for further scholarly study of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

March 12, 2011

I’m pessimistic that social and political changes going on in some Arab Muslim countries will have much of an effect on global Salafist-jihadism. Understood in the West (if at all) as al-Qaeda and its affiliates, Salafist-jihadism is far more ideologically diverse than Bin Laden and Zawahiri, and far more theologically nuanced than most analysts and policy makers give it credit. Unfortunately, it will endure this glorious revolution, because it has always been outside the mainstream of Islamic religious practice, and there it will remain. I’m more pessimistic about the future of political Islam, Salafist-jihadism’s theological antagonist and ideological counterweight.

Political Islam -- manifested by, but not limited to, the Muslim Brotherhood -- emerged as a response to secularization of post-Ottoman and post-colonial governments. It’s clear from many of the Hassan al-Banna’s 30s-era essays -- like Towards the Light -- that he was building an alternative to Western ideas of secular governance. The promise of that alternative rose as the promise of secular Arab/Muslim states faded. It became enough of a problem in the 1950s and 60s that the Brotherhood and other Islamist movement were persecuted in most of the Arab/Muslim world. When Sadat offered the group political legitimacy in the early 1970s, it embraced its new role as the de facto alternative to the regional status quo.

How did the Muslim Brotherhood benefit from its rapprochement with Sadat’s new government? Over the decades it thrived outside of Egypt and other Arab countries. Islamism has been wildly successful in Western countries. It practically defines Sunni Islam in the United States. Yet, it’s current place as the one and only recognizable opposition force in Egypt certainly didn’t help it much during the revolution. It has, perhaps, become too dependent on the regime it opposed and without it, it has to build a new legitimacy. In yesterday’s New York Times, Gilles Kepel points out the group’s relative docile reaction to the revolutionary onslaught in Tunisia and Egypt,

Islamists kept a low profile — even in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood has the biggest and best organized network of charities, mosques and local associations. They couldn’t beat the democrats, so they joined them.

Listening to their slogans, reading their publications in Arabic, one is struck by the fact that — as opposed to Khomeini in 1978-79 — they were unable to control the revolution’s vocabulary. Now, they must either keep on that track — and relinquish “sovereignty to the people,” albeit with their own religious tradition and culture — or they must capitalize on the dissatisfaction of the disinherited and push their old “Islam is the alternative” agenda.

The Islamists, for the time being, are divided along generational and ideological lines, but they have not vanished from the Arab street — let alone from Tahrir Square, where Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, back from Qatar, addressed the crowd for the Friday prayer. They find themselves, along with the whole of society, at a defining moment. It has little to do with the grand schemes of the clash of civilizations, and far more with grass-roots issues.

On the other hand, Salafist-jihadism emerged as a response to the mainstreaming of political Islam in Egypt in the early 1970s. Shukri Mustafa (Takfir wa’al Hijrah) and his compatriots in the Egyptian university movements - EIJ, IG, etc - were inspired to push political Islam to its extreme, and over the course of the next two decades would develop the theological and ideological foundations of contemporary Salafist-jihadism.

Al-Qaeda, its affiliates, and many of Salafist-jihadist groups, manifest their movement differently from the Islamists. They will often claim that they represent a vanguard of righteous men and women are the embodiment of pure Islamic practice through commitment to (both greater and lesser) jihad, and other practices. In Knights Under the Banner of the Prophet (2001), Zawahiri describes them “the Islamic movement and its jihad vanguard with all its good quality, purity and offering...”

The conception of a vanguard isolates Salafist-jihadist from the mainstream of any society. If it is a true vanguard then it can never be mainstream. As a result, a small group of pure Muslims who seek God’s good graces will be a theological elite (in their own eyes) whether they live in stable France, disintegrating Pakistan, a newly democratic Egypt, or in an apartment complex off Leesburg Pike in Northern Virginia.

Azzam, Qatada, Maqdisi, Dr. Fadl and the al-Sahwa sheikhs all matter because they built the foundation for contemporary Salafist-jihadism. At some point the Salafist-jihadists chose to be a theological vanguard rather than a political movement. In so doing, they may have guaranteed the movement’s survival, relatively unscathed by the twists and turns of political revolution.

February 24, 2011

I've reposted the Appendices of R.P. Mitchell's 1960 dissertation, appropriately entitled, "The Society of the Muslim Brothers." It's an interesting read for MB scholars, representing possibly the only contemporary collection of MB publications from the time leading up to Nasser's crackdown.

I used to host them on my website, but I took them off, having come to the conclusion that no one was interested. I've noticed a wee bit more interest in this material in the past month for any number of reasons: Beckbots, apologists, and an endless stream of blather from the MSM news channels. However, to the young scholar, who was perhaps unaware of Mitchell's dissertation, this is all new. Dig in, folks.

April 05, 2009

I know, I know. I've been remiss in my duties to post an Around the Web, and now I've been writing one for what feels like a week. It's going to take you about a week to get through it, too, but I don't want to hear any whining. It's a slow week in most offices. If you can catch up on your fantasy baseball picks, you can read this post.

We start with Jihadica, and the squibs from hell: Thomas surveys recent jihadi publications. They also have a roundup of their recent Workshop in Oslo (Part I and Part II). Excellent work all around.

Three of them, who lived in Naples, are though to be Islamist radicals sympathetic to the radical 'Takfiri' ideology...The three radicals had already been involved in falsifying documents to aid jihadist groups.

Meanwhile the Financial Times throws some cold water on all this talk of Islamic finance saving the world. [This talk concerns me, because the vast majority of people who know known nothing about Islamic finance.] (via Aqoul)

And the Times of London is reporting on something that happened, what? Two weeks ago?

Holy Spicolli! Abu Muqawama is an actual...guy. I thought he was just a blog.

In Stage One, the agency (in this case the FBI) embraces radical Islamist front groups. In Stage Two reality sets in and said agency withdraws their cooperation with groups, once understood that they share the same goals as AQ. In Stage Three these "moderate" groups start making bizarre accusations hoping to test and intimidate said agency. In Stage Four said agency will apologize for something it's not doing and cave to all demands.

So where does the money go? This recent Reuters list of "Gulf Arab foreign investments" gives you some idea. (via The Arabist)

I welcome to the club of "blogs she reads":

Shariah Finance Watch

http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/

And a jihadi blog (via The Pest)

http://millatibraheem.wordpress.com/

Flash: there are Salafi groups in the Levant, according to MEMRI there's a new Salafist-Jihadist one in Gaza, and two S-Js reported killed in Gaza.

Speaking of Africa: The Pest of all people pointed out the novel qualities of a current release from AQ's Somalia branch. It's an all-English video, featuring an American muj, rapping, or something. More at Jawa Report, Danger Room, and others including here and here.

The Pest's post is here: http://revolution.thabaat.net/?p=1096

You can find it here: http://www.archive.org/details/kmen-bradle

The video does suggest that there is an audience for this jihadi vileness in the US, and belies the commonly acknowledged trope that "our" Muslims (ie, the US) are not as radical as "their" Muslims (ie. Europe). Perhaps, but then, how do we know?

Over in Yemen, Waq-al-Waq notes a recent article in AQ's periodical Sada al-Malahim that provides some "good background" on KSA's 85 Most Wanted.

And MEMRIBlog reports that Yemeni officials have their own Most Wanted list

What about the analog version of the group? Al Qaeda Today: a Policy Forum luncheon hosted by The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. (PolicyWatch #1477: Special Forum Report)

Drew has a post on a recent study that challenges the work of Robert Pape: Decision Processes of a Suicide Bomber

Question to the audience: How many suicidebombings in a row before it's called an offensive?It must be Spring.

February 16, 2009

Aaron linked to a report a while back that suggested a convergence of “public policy agenda” between radical Islamist and left-wing activist groups in the UK. I recalled it today after seeing news that the UK is holding three on suspicion that they intended to use a left-wing NGO as cover to enter the Palestinian territories for the purpose of joining jihad:

Three Islamist terror suspects who were arrested in northwest England on Friday night planned to leave the country under the cover of a humanitarian convoy to Gaza led by George Galloway, the maverick MP, senior police sources said.

The three suspects were among nine men arrested in a joint operation by police and MI5 while they were driving two vans on the M65 near Preston, Lancashire. Six were later released and three men, aged 26, 29 and 36, remained in custody last night.

The men had been under surveillance for some time as part of what police described as “an ongoing intelligence-led operation”. Although details of the surveillance remain unclear, one source said the men were believed to be planning a terrorist operation abroad.

The reports don’t say whose jihad they intended to join (Hamas? AQ? Hezbollah?), and how they came about the idea of using a Western NGOs in this way, but it certainly suggest the claims of convergence are more than just a think tank’s bias.

The report by Atma Singh for the UK think tank Middle East Strategic Information (MESI), “An Examination of the ‘Entryist’ Tactics of the Hamas Front Organisations and the Extreme Left in the UK Gaza Protests in London,” describes the relationship of what it calls “ two key controlling revolutionary organizations” recently involved in anti-Israeli protests in London. Organizations such as Socialist Action and the Muslim Association of Britain, according to the article, employ the tactic of Entryism, described as:

a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits or take it over entirely.

And it appears the tactic has worked well for both groups:

These two non-state actors have been highly successful in using the Greater London Authority to pursue their goals, receiving both passive and active support for Hamas front organisations and anti-Israeli public policy positions during Ken Livingstone’s term as Mayor of London. This success has been used to further infiltrate the UK (in policy terms) and the police and security services (subverting anti-terrorism strategy and policy).

Singh notes that the entryist tactic comes from Trotskyite concept of “united front:”

a willingness to make temporary and very narrow political and limited objective-based alliances with wider social movements and political forces on an issue by issue campaigns basis.

Though the report does a good job characterizing the relationship between the two movements, it doesn’t touch on a crucial question: why Left and not Right? As a short term tactic, aligning with leftist “peace” groups may be a smart move for radical Islamist front groups like Muslim Association of Britain, after all, both groups share (nearly) identical short term goals – an end to Israeli counter-Hamas efforts. However, the report suggests the relationship runs deeper. If the relationship does run deeper, then why?

Is it possible that radical Islamists have an affinity with leftists and socialists? If that was the case then we would see the convergence worldwide, and we don’t. For example, MB protests in Egypt during the same period rarely, if ever, included leftist groups. As a matter of fact, in the Middle East, the MB would probably more inclined to work with rival Islamist groups that they otherwise dominate in the West (see below).

Is it just an isolated, short-term tactic to gain legitimacy for this one issue? If so, then why are we seeing a similar convergence here in the US and even Canada?

There are other arguments, but the question of Why Left/Why Socialism remains. I suspect it goes back to that near-perfect maxim: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If conservative think tanks, academics, politicians, and policy wonks are their enemy, then they have a natural “friend” in leftist groups. I also suspect that the generally weakened state of much European conservatism leaves the leftist groups with more legitimacy, and are thus a richer target for infiltration.

I must give credit where it’s due: radical Islamists have no compunction with identifying and targeting their adversaries with both long-term and short-term tactics. In this case, they appear to be piggybacking off the persistent, even natural, antagonism between “left” and “right” that has seeped into every aspect of political life in the West.

I’ll throw this suggestion out, as well. Though radical Islamist groups (at least the US variety) share many of the social and cultural positions with conservative organizations here in the US, they have targeted the leftist organizations because those organizations tend to be a-religious. On the other hand, conservative organizations in the US tend to declare a religious identity (mostly Christian or Jewish). The leftist tendency toward a-religious identity gives the Islamist groups more freedom to be Islamist without coming up against pesky questions and possible prosetlyzing.

The London Times article linked above suggests that the weekend arrests were part of an ongoing investigation. As a topic of discussion, the convergence of radical Left with radical Islam is just beginning.

-------------------An aside

The report notes MAB’s dominance (at the expense of other Muslim groups) in the media and the public dialog:

MAB seeks to lead its market domain by innovation, takeovers, alliances and mergers in the political field of Middle East and Muslim politics in the UK, to use strategic economic terminology. It has taken over Muslim organisations where it can. In 2005 it took over the North London Mosque from its competitor for the radical Islamist constituency in the UK, Abu Hamza and his firebrand extremism. It even used the Metropolitan Police to help in this task,[10] using highly sophisticated political tactics and manipulating state agencies to gain control over other organisations by portraying itself as moderate. It also exploits the disruption caused by its opponents for its own benefit. This sort of tactic has been made possible by building up the credibility of its work through a visible and active relationship with UK state actors.

MAB has differentiated itself from its competitors in Hizb ut Tahrir (HuT), which is now banned in the UK. Rather than putting itself in a position of opposition and conflict with such forces, MAB has learned from the tactics used by revolutionary socialist and extreme left organisations in the UK.

Apparently, the MAB, much like their US/Canadian counterparts, has come to dominate the media and cultural “battlespaces,” effectively silencing their competitors on either side (moderate Muslim groups and Salafist-Jihadists). Amazingly, they achieved this not through thuggish tactics, but by having social institutions such as the media and government give them the legitimacy they need in order to thrive. For a group that seeks the same end goal as Al Qaeda and Hizb ut Tahrir, they’ve been wildly successful at convincing outsiders that they’re different in substance from those other groups.

January 27, 2009

It's a 1969 Danish-language pamphlet published by the I.I.F.S.O with a forward by Afzal Rahman (from London). It appears to have been distributed by a group called the Scandinavian Foundation of Islamic Services. Not jihad related, but certainly a curio from the Brotherhood's still-formative years in Europe.

January 07, 2009

I came across this unfinished essay I wrote earlier last year…It's not Schubert, but I thought some of the ideas resonate and may pick them up again some time in 2009.

Thinking with the enemy

On a March evening in 1928 in a schoolhouse in the provincial city of Ismailiya, Egypt six men offered Hassan al-Banna their fortunes, if he would guide them. They decided to form a group, and the “Al Ikhwanul Muslemoon,” Muslim Brotherhood, was born. Later al-Banna would write, “We determined on solemn oath that we shall live as brethren; work for the glory of Islam and launch Jihad for it.”

The Muslim Brotherhood is acknowledged as the father of practically every jihadist group in the world today. Al Qaeda got its start in that schoolhouse. There continue to be strong ideological connections between Hassan al-Banna’s learned and articulate writing and Ayman al-Zawahiri’s polemics. And yet do policy makers and members of our intelligence community know much about the ideology of the Brotherhood and its offshoots? Can they articulate that ideology with the same comprehension they once knew the Soviets?

For starters it cannot be understood outside of its deep, enduring Islamic roots. “We are united to serve the cause of Islam,” Al-Banna wrote, hence the group’s name. Eight years later, in a letter to then Egyptian king Farouk I, he implores the king to establish an Islamic state rather than a secular one, “it would be inexcusable for us to turn aside from the path of truth -- the path of Islam -- and to follow the path of fleshly desires and vanities -- the path of Europe. Along the path of Europe are to be found outer show and cheap tinsel...But the path of Islam is glory, impregnability, truth, strength, blessedness…” A group founded as the “cause of Islam” as its purpose should be understood in the context of Islam, without that much consideration to its roots, our picture is woefully incomplete.

Despite violent crackdowns, leadership executions, long jail sentences, and numerous dissolutions over the past 80 years, the Brotherhood is more important than ever. Numerous western governments have identified the mosques they run, the businesses they control, their media houses, and their worldwide leadership. And yet there are no in-depth studies of what makes the group so resilient. Is it possible that the same resilience exists in Al Qaeda and its offshoots? We don’t know. The question has implications for our long-term strategy against Al Qaeda’s global movement. If the answer turns out to be Yes, then we will have to rethink our understanding of enemy and how he views his place in the world, and more important, how he fights his wars.The rest is just random notes

December 03, 2008

Crossroads Arabia links to a Gulfnews article reporting on Muslim World League's new efforts to "control" the issuance of fatwas:

Referring to the mufti conference, [Dr Abdullah Al Turki, secretary general of MWL] expressed his unhappiness over the issue of fatwa's that have not been situation under which religious edicts were being issued in various parts of the world.

"Some people are exploiting religious edicts for ulterior motives. Fatwas were being issued by some others, who are not qualified to do the same," he said adding that these factors prompted MWL to take the matter seriously. "Over the past two years, MWL had been carrying out studies regarding this issue."

If this recent article in Dar al-Hayat is an accurate reflection of the general sentiment following a recent visit by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, then the next administration will have its work cut out for them.

Perhaps the Maghreb and the Sahel will see stability operations. Hopefully not before there's much more cultural training for military, diplomats, and spies.

July 19, 2008

I saw this post the other day, "Haute Homes in Dubai Isla Moda." It's a different view of the kind of societal changes going on in the Gulf. It's nice to see all these wonderful signs of "modernization" in the Gulf, but this happened once before in the region, and we're still feeling the resulting backlash.

Will does everyone a favor by giving his readers access to the current issues of the three active jihadi periodicals being produced and distributed on the web.

Are we to let urban planners and designers normalise our kinetic experiences and design interactions as responses to the perception of terrorism as a an ever-present and existential threat?

Bill at Long War Journal recently reported on the scope of AQ and Taliban training camps in Pakistan's NW tribal regions:

Some camps are devoted to training the Taliban's military arm, some train suicide bombers for attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, some focus on training the various Kashmiri terror groups, some train al Qaeda operatives for attacks in the West, and one serves as a training ground the Black Guard, the elite bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. A US Special Forces raid against the Black Guard camp in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan, Pakistan in March 2006 resulted in the death of Imam Asad and several dozen members of the Black Guard. Asad was the camp commander, a senior Chechen al Qaeda commander, and associate of Shamil Basayev, the Chechen al Qaeda leader killed by Russian security forces in July 2006.

This brief June discussion between Marc Lynch (Abu Aardvark), Thomas Hegghammer, and Stephane Lacroix on the current state of the Muslim Brotherhood in Saudi Arabia is a must read, as is the link to an earlier post on the state of the MB throughout the Gulf.

In the UK Telegraph, a review of Ahmed Rashid's new book, Descent into Chaos.

Matt Armstrong wonders why we keep obsessing over "hearts and minds," and includes this important insight:

The center of gravity today is not a single point but an informational ecosystem in which support systems targeted and relied upon by both the insurgent and counterinsurgent exist and propagate. These spheres of influence include physical (sanctuary), financial (money to buy things), moral (religious leader backing), social (friends and family), and recruits. The effectiveness of information campaigns today will more often dictate a victory than how well bullets and bombs are put on a target. Success isn’t dependent on how likeable we are.

Jeffrey Imm is skeptical. As you know, I share his skepticism, but from a different perspective. I'm cautiously optimistic. However, with so little native understanding of the global jihad movement within military, intelligence and policy circles, how are we so confident that this is what it appears to be? Imm links to last week's "Jihad? What Jihad?" column by CIA's former chief for warning published in the Washington Post. As luck would have it, AP reported this week on the burgeoning movement of jihadis into Afghanistan. Read it, while constantly repeating the words: "there is no global jihadi; there is no global jihad."

What do Timothy McVeigh, Al Qaida, and ELF have in common? There's the common sense answer: "nothing." And there's the government-funded research answer: "Same difference." There's probably some insight to be gained from this analytical approach. I prefer to study the enemy with the most money, the best military training, and a 1500 year foundation of ideology, theology, and global strategy to support it.

June 25, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

In this last and final part of this study, Al-Banna wraps up his essay by addressing contemporary arguments against the obligation for violent jihad. In a passage that could have been written by any online jihadi today, Al-Banna dismisses the "greater" vs" lesser" jihad argument. In a fascinating reversal of tactics, it's Brotherhood members themselves who use the "greater vs lesser" argument to deflect criticism from non-Muslims.

Mercy in the Islamic Jihad

Since the goal of the Islamic jihad was the noblest of goals, the means employed were also the most excellent of means. For God has forbidden aggression. He, the Almighty, has said: "Do not instigate hostilities, for God loves not those who instigate hostilities" [Q.2:190], and He commanded that justice be observed, even toward the enemy and the adversary. He, the Almighty, has said: "Let not hatred of a people coerce you into treating them unjustly. Be just: it is closer to piety" [Q.5:2]. He has guided the Muslims to act with the utmost mercy.

For when they fight, they do not instigate hostilities, nor do they behave licentiously, nor do they mutilate, nor do they steal or plunder property, nor do they commit rape, nor do they indulge in wanton destruction. In their warfare they are the best of fighters, just as in peace they are the most excellent of peacemakers.

On the authority of Burayda (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "Whenever the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) appointed a commander over an army or a band of raiders, he charged him to behave with piety toward God Almighty in his inward self, and with benevolent care for the Muslims who were with him." Then he [i.e., the Prophet] said: "Campaign in the name of God in God's way! Fight those who disbelieve in God: campaign, but do not indulge in excesses, do not act treacherously, do not mutilate, and do not slay children." Transmitted by Muslim.

On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'When one of you fights, let him avoid [striking] the face.'" Published by the Two Shaykhs.

On the authority of Ibn Mas'ud (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'The most continent of mankind are the fighters of the People of the Faith.'" Published by Abu Da'ud.

On the authority of "Abd Allah b. Yazid al-Ansari (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) forbade plundering and mutilation." Published by Al-Bukhari.

So also it is forbidden to slay women, children, and old men, and to despatch the wounded, or to disturb monks and hermits, and the peaceful who offer no resistance. Just contrast this mercy with the murderous warfare of the civilized peoples and their disgusting atrocities! And what is their international law alongside this all-embracing, divinely ordained justice?

My God, instruct the Muslims in their religion, and save the world from these injustices with the enlightenment of Islam!Supplements to Jihad

The belief is widespread among many Muslims that fighting the enemy is the lesser jihad, and that there is a greater jihad, the jihad of the spirit. Many of them invoke as proof of this the following narration [athar]: "'We have returned from the lesser jihad to embark on the greater jihad.’ They said: ‘What is the greater jihad?’ He said: 'The jihad of the heart, or the jihad of the spirit.'"

Some of them try, by recourse to this, to divert people from the importance of fighting, preparing for combat, and resolving to undertake it and embark on God's way. This narration is not really a sound Tradition: the Prince of Believers in matters of Tradition, Al-Hafiz b. Hajar, said in the Tasdid al-Qaws; "It is well-known and often repeated, and was a saying of Ibrahim b. Abla."

Al-'Iraqi said in the Takhrij Ahadith al-Ahya: "Al-Bayhaqi transmitted it with a weak chain ot guarantors on the authority of Jabir, and Al-Khatib transmitted it in his history on the authority of Jabir." Nevertheless, even if it were a sound Tradition, it would never warrant abandoning jihad, or preparing for it in order to rescue the territories of the Muslims and repel the attacks of unbelievers. Its meaning is simply that it is necessary to struggle with the spirit so that it may be sincerely devoted to God in every one of its acts. So let it be known.

Other supplementary matters concerned with jihad are the following: to command the good and forbid the evil. It is said in the Traditions: "One of the loftiest forms of jihad is to utter a word of truth in the presence of a tyrannical ruler.'

But nothing in them confers on their advocate, the supreme martyrdom and the reward of the strivers in jihad, unless he slays or is slain in the way of God.

Epilogue

Brethren! God gives the umma that is skilled in the practice of death and that knows how to die a noble death, an exalted life in this world and eternal felicity in the next. What is the fantasy that has reduced us to loving this world and hating death? If you gird yourselves for a lofty deed and yearn for death, life shall be given to you.

Know then that death is inevitable, and that it can only happen once. If you suffer it in the way of God, it will be to your profit in this world, and your reward in the next. Nothing shall touch you but what God has decreed for you: ponder well what God, the Blessed, the Almighty, has said: "Then after the affliction. He sent down security upon you, as slumber which overcame a party of you; while a party whom concern for themselves had preoccupied were surmising untruth of God, the surmise of pagandom, saying: ‘Do we have any share in this matter at all?' Say: ‘The matter is God's entirely.' They hide within themselves what they do not reveal to thee, and say: ‘if we had had any share in this matter, we would not have been slain here.' Say: ‘Even if you had been in your houses, those for whom slaughter had been decreed would have gone forth to their resting-places -and so that God might test what is in your breasts and examine what is in your hearts. God knows what lies within your breasts'" [Q.3:154].

If you strive for an honorable death, you will win to perfect happiness. May God bestow upon us and upon you the honor of martyrdom in His way!

June 23, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

After building his argument using the traditional method of sacred verses and jurisprudence, Al-Banna puts all of this work into perspective. The goal of jihad, he writes, is never for personal gain, but to "strive to his utmost" for specific gains. Jihad is thus obliged for "the mission of spreading Islam," a way of instituting "peace," and a means to implementing Islamic law, or as he describes it, "Supreme Message."

Why Do the Muslims Wage War?

People have been for some time stigmatizing Islam because of the religious ordinance of jihad and the [divine] permission to wage war until the [message of] the precious Qur'anic verse is fulfilled: "We shall show them Our signs in the farthest horizons and in themselves, until it is made clear to them that it is the Truth" [Q.41:53]. And now here they are acknowledging that it is the surest way to peace!

God ordained jihad for the Muslims not as a tool of oppression or a means of satisfying personal ambitions, but rather as a defense for the mission [of spreading Islam], a guarantee of peace, and a means of implementing the Supreme Message, the burden of which the Muslims bear, the Message guiding mankind to truth and justice. For Islam, even as it ordains jihad, extols peace: the Blessed and Almighty said: "But if they incline toward peace, incline thou toward it, and put thy trust in God" [Q.8:61].

The Muslim would go forth to fight, one concern within his soul - to strive to his utmost until "God's Word is the most exalted" [Q.9:40]. His religion had ordained that he avoid diluting this purpose with any other; for the love of pomp is forbidden him, and the love of show is forbidden him, and thirst for spoils is forbidden him, and striving to conquer unjustly is forbidden him, while only one thing is allowed him - to offer his blood and his soul as a pledge for his creed and a guidance for mankind.

On the authority of Al-Harith b. Muslim al-Harith, on the authority of his father, who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) sent us on a military expedition. When we reached the area to be raided, I urged on my horse and got ahead of my companions. The people of the [enemy] clan met me with cries of lamentation, and I said to them: 'If you say: "There is no god but God," you are safe." So they said it. My companions reproached me and said: 'You have prevented us from taking any spoils!' When we came back to the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!), they told him what I had done. He called me over and found what I had done praiseworthy. Then he said to me: -God Almighty has indeed decreed for you so much and so much reward for every human being.' And he said: -I myself shall write something for you in the way of a bequest after my death.' He did so, sealed it, and handed it over to me." Published by Abu Da'ud.

And on the authority of Shaddad b. al-HadI (May God be pleased with him!): "A man of the [nomad] Arabs came and believed in the Prophet (May God bless and save him!). Then he said: 'I shall emigrate with you.' And the Prophet (May God bless and save him!) gave him into the charge of some of his Companions - it was [during] a campaign in which the Prophet (May God bless and save him!) took some booty which was divided up, and of which he received a share. And he [i.e., the Arab] said: 'What is this?" He said: -I have apportioned it to you.' He said: "It was not for this that I followed you; rather I followed you that I might be pierced here (and he motioned with his hand to his neck) with an arrow, and that I might die and enter Paradise.' He said: 'If you believe God, He will believe you." So they remained there for a space; then they rose to do battle with the enemy. He was carried over to the Prophet, having been struck with an arrow exactly where he had pointed. The Prophet (May God bless and save him!) said:

‘Is it he?’ They said: 'Yes.' He said: 'He believed in God: therefore He believed him.' Then he was shrouded in the garment of the Prophet (May God bless and save himi), and he [i.e., the prophet] walked before him and prayed over him. This is part of what he said in his prayer: 'My God, this is Thy servant who went forth as an Emigrant in Thy way and was slain a martyr. And I am a witness unto it.'" Published by Al-Nasa-i.

On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him): "A man said: '0 Apostle of God, what of a man who wants [to engage in] jihad in God's way, but desires the goods of this world?' He said: 'There is no reward for him.' And he [i.e., the man] repeated this [question] to him three times, but he said: 'There is no reward for him.'" Published by Abu Da'ud.

On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'art (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) was asked about a man who fights courageously, one who fights zealously, and one who fights hypo critically. Which of these was in the way of God? He said: 'He who fights so that "God's Word is the most exalted" [Q.9:40] is in God's way.'" Published in the Five Books [but not by Al-Bukhari].

If you read about the battles waged by the Companions (May God's grace be with them!), and their behavior in the territories they conquered, you will see to what extent they abstained from indulging their personal desires and cravings, and the extent of their dedication to their fundamental and original goal - the guidance of mankind to the truth until "God's Word is the most exalted" [Q.9:40]. And you will see just how mistaken is the imputation to them (May God's grace be upon them!) of wanting simply to conquer peoples, subjugate nations, and obtain wealth.

June 22, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

Al-Banna draws six examples from the "legists" in this section. In the last post we read the first three examples. In this post, al-Banna concludes his section on the legists. The emphasis on this entire section in on the "communal obligation" of jihad, and should probably be interpreted in the context of late-30s Egypt, particularly the question of whether the country should implement Islamic law (see the study on "Toward the Light").

(4) And in Al-Mughni of Ibn Qudama of the Hanbalite School, who said: "The problem: ^ihad is a communal obligation. If a group of people engage in it, the remainder are released. It becomes an individual obligation under three conditions: (i) If two armies meet and two lines [of soldiers] confront one another, those present are forbidden to take off, and it becomes an individual obligation on each one to remain at his station. (ii) If the unbelievers attack a territory, it becomes an individual obligation on its population to fight and repulse them. (iii) If the Imam calls a group of people to arms, they are obliged to join his military forces.

And the least he must do is [to wage jihad] once every year."

Abu ' Abd Allah (i.e., the Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal) said: 'I know of nothing after the divine commandments more excellent than jihad, and campaigning by sea is more excellent than campaigning on land. Anas b. Malik (May God be pleased with him!) said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) was asleep. Then he awoke laughing, and Umm Haram said: 'What makes you laugh, O Apostle of God?' He said: 'People of my umma embarked on a military campaign in God's way, riding on the surface of this sea as kings on their thrones,' or 'like the kings on their thrones.'" [This is] generally agreed upon, and at the end of the Tradition, Umm Haram asked the Prophet (May God bless and save him!) to beseech God on her behalf that she might be one of them. So he prayed for her, and she lived long enough to ride upon the sea in the Muslim fleet which conquered the island of Cyprus. She died and was buried there, and there are a mosque and a martyrium attributed to her (May God have mercy upon her and be pleased with her!).

(5) And it says in Al-Muhalla of Ibn Hazm the Zahirite: "The problem: Jihad is obligatory on the Muslims, but if enough engage in it to repulse the enemy, campaign against him in his own territory, and protect the borderlands of the Muslims, the remainder are released from it. And if not, then the obligation remains. God Almighty said: 'March forth, light and heavy, and strive with your wealth and your persons in God's way!' [Q.9:41]. It is not allowable save with the permission of parents, unless the enemy attacks a group of Muslims. Then it is obligatory on everyone who can aid them to set out to succor them, parents permitting or not, unless one or both would suffer through his absence. It is not lawful for him to abandon either of them who would suffer thereby."

(6) And Al-Shawkani said in Al-Sayl al-Jarrar: "The available arguments regarding the religious ordinance of jihad, both in writing and in customary observance [sunna], are too numerous to be set down here. Nevertheless, it is a communal observance, and if some engage in it, the remainder are released from it. Before a certain number engage in it, it is an individual obligation incumbent on every adult by law, and similarly, it is incumbent on everyone called to arms by the Imam to join the armed forces, and thereupon it becomes an individual obligation."

Now you can see from all this how the men of learning, both those who employed independent judgment and those who strictly followed tradition, the earliest and the latest, agree unanimously that jihad is a communal obligation imposed upon the Islamic umma in order to broadcast the summons [to embrace Islam], and that it is an individual obligation to repulse the attack of unbelievers upon it. Today the Muslims, as you know, are compelled to humble themselves before non-Muslims, and are ruled by unbelievers. Their lands have been trampled over, and their honor besmirched. Their adversaries are in charge of their affairs, and the rites of their religion have fallen into abeyance within their own domains, to say nothing of their impotence to broadcast the summons [to embrace Islam]. Hence it has become an individual obligation, which there is no evading, on every Muslim to prepare his equipment, to make up his mind to engage in jihad, and to get ready for it until the opportunity is ripe and God decrees a matter which is sure to be accomplished.

Probably, to terminate this inquiry, I should mention to you that the Muslims, throughout every period of their history before the present period of oppression in which their dignity has come to its end, never abandoned jihad nor did they ever grow lax in waging it, not even their religious authorities, mystics, craftsmen, etc. All of them were fully prepared [to do so] at a moment's notice. Abd Allah b. al-Mubarak, the canon lawyer and ascetic, was a volunteer in jihad for most of his life, and Abd al-Wahhab b. Zayd, the mystic and ascetic, was the same. And in his time, Shaqiq al-Balkhi, the Sufi shaykh, used to despatch himself and his disciples off to jihad.

And Al-Badr al-'Ayni, the commentator on Al-Bukhari, the canon lawyer and traditionist, would take part in jihad one year, study for one year, and go on pilgrimage one year, while the judge Asad b. al-Furat of the Malikite School was an admiral in his day, and the Imam al-Shafi'i would shoot ten [arrows] and not miss once.

Such were the early generations of Muslims (God's grace be upon them;), and what are we alongside such a history?

June 21, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

Al-Banna has been methodically building his argument for the centrality of jihad in Muslim life (and the Muslim state). He began with the Quranic verses, worked his way through 31 ahadith drawn from a accepted collections. Al-Banna now turns to the works of the Islamic scholars, the ulema. He emphasizes that he is drawing from the scholars (the word used here is "legists") of all four "Schools," and "even the latter-day authorities among them," in order to prove his point that Muslims of his time had "lost the ordinances of its own religion on the question of jihad."

The Rule of Jihad According to the Legists of the Umma

Precious verses from the Qur'an and Noble Traditions concerned with the excellence of jihad have passed in review before you. Now I would like to convey to you some portion of what the legists of the [Four Orthodox] Schools have said -even the latter-day authorities among them - regarding the rules of jihad and the necessity for preparedness, so that you may know to what extent the Islamic umma has lost the ordinances of its own religion on the question of jihad along with the consensus of opinion of the Muslims throughout every period of their history. Now listen.

(1) The author of the Majma' al-Anhur fi Sharh Multaqa'l-Abhur, in determining the rules of jihad according to the Hanafi School, said: "Jihad in its literal significance means to put forth one's maximal effort in word and deed; in the Sacred Law it is the slaying of the unbelievers, and related connotations such as beating them, plundering their wealth, destroying their shrines, and smashing their idols.

The desired aim is to strive to the utmost to strengthen the faith by such means as fighting the inhabitants of the Dar al-Harb and the tolerated Scripturaries (if they rebel), as well as the apostates, who are the vilest of unbelievers, for recanting after they have affirmed [their belief], and oppressors. It is initiated by us as a communal obligation, that is, it is obligatory on us to begin fighting with them after transmitting the invitation [to embrace Islam], even if they do not fight against us. It is incumbent on the Imam to send a military expedition to the Dar al-Harb every year one or two times, and it is incumbent on the subject populace to aid him. If some perform it, the remainder are released from the obligation. If the communal obligation cannot be fulfilled by that group, it falls upon the closest [adjacent group], and the closest [after that], etc., and if the communal obligation cannot be fulfilled except by all the people, it then becomes an individual obligation, like prayer. As to the actual ordinance, it exists by virtue of what He, the Almighty, said: 'Therefore slay the polytheists!’ [Q.9:5], and by what he (On whom be blessings and peace') said: 'Jihad is in effect until the Day of Resurrection.' If the whole body [of believers] abandons it, they are in a state of sin…," up to where he says: "If the enemy conquers any territory of Islam, or any regions of it, it becomes an individual obligation, and the woman and the slave shall go forth without the permission of husband or master. In the same way, the child shall go forth without the permission of his parents, and the debtor without the permission of his creditor."

And in the Kitab al-Bahr: "Should a Muslim woman be captured in the East, it is incumbent on the people of the farthest West to rescue her until she has come into their protection and custody."

(2) The author of the Bulghat al-Salik li Aqrab al- Masalik fl Madhhab al-Imam Malik said: "Jihad in God's way for the purpose of exalting God Almighty's Word every year is a communal obligation. If some fulfill it, the remainder are absolved of it. It becomes specifically designated (i.e., it becomes an individual obligation like prayer and fasting), when an Imam is appointed and the enemy attacks the population of a specific region, whereupon it becomes obligatory on them and on those in their vicinity, if they are powerless [to carry it out]. And it is obligatory on the woman and the slave under these circumstances, even though the guardian, the husband, the master and the creditor - if he [the mujahid] should be a debtor - forbid them. It also becomes obligatory through having made a vow [to engage in it]. Parents have the right to forbid [their child] from [taking part in] it only under conditions of communal obligation. Ransoming a captive from the Dar al-Harb when he has no money with which to ransom himself is a communal obligation, even if it calls for the entire wealth of [all] the Muslims."

(3) And in the text of Al-Minhaj of the Imam al-Nawawi - of the Shafi'ite School: "Jihad during the time of the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) was a communal obligation, though it is also alleged that it was an individual obligation. Since his day, there are two conditions relative to the unbelievers: (i) If they remain in their own territories, it is a communal obligation. If a sufficient number of Muslims undertake it, the remainder are released from the onerous duty. (ii) If they invade one of our territories, its population are obliged to repulse them with all their force, and if it is possible to prepare for combat, every possible effort must be made by the indigent, the child, the debtor, and the slave, even without permission."

June 19, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

Al-Banna completes his ahadith section...

(24) On the authority of Jabir b. 'Abd Allah (May God Almighty be pleased with him;), who said: "When 'Abd Allah b. Amr b. Haram was slain on the Day of Uhud, the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him) said: ' O Jabir, shall I tell you what God (August and Majestic is He!) said to your father?' I said: 'Yes indeed!' He said: 'God speaks to no one save from behind a veil, but He spoke to your father face to face, saying: " O My servant, ask of Me what thou wilt, and it shall be granted." He said: " O Lord, grant me life, that I may be slain for Thee for a second time!" He said: "But I have already decreed that 'they shall not return unto it.'"28 He said: " O Lord, let them know who are [left] behind me." So God (August and Majestic is He!) sent down this verse: "Do not reckon those who have been slain in God's way as dead…" And so on up to the end of the verse'" [Q.3:169]. Transmitted by Ibn Maja.

(25) On the authority of Anas, on the authority of his father (May God be pleased with them!), on the authority of the Prophet (May God bless and save him!), who said: "That I accompany a fighter in God's way and bestead him on his jour¬ ney, departing or reverting, is more pleasing to me than this world and what it contains." Transmitted by Ibn Maja. "to bestead him on his journey" = to help him on it. "departing" = setting out in the morning. "reverting" = coming back in the evening.

(26) On the authority of Abu Hurayra, who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'God has sent forth three: the campaigner, the pilgrim, and the visitant to the Ka'ba.'" Transmitted by Muslim.

(27) On the authority of Abu 'l-Darda', who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him;) said: 'The martyr will intercede on behalf of seventy of the people of his house.'" Transmitted by Abu Da'ud.

(28) On the authority of 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar, who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'If you traffic in commodities on credit, and if you grasp the tails of cattle, and if you are content to sow [fields], and if you abandon jihad. God will cast upon you a humiliation which He will not lift from you until you return to your religion.'" Transmitted by 'Ahmad [b. Hanbal] and 'Abu Da'ud, and attested as to its authenticity by Al-Hakim [al-Naysaburi].

(29) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with himi), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) and his Companions set out in a hurry so that they reached Badr ahead of the polytheists. The polytheists arrived, and the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'Forward to Paradise, whose width embraces the heavens and the earth!' 'Umayr b. al-Humam said: 'Hurrah! hurrah!' The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'What impels you to say "Hurrah! hurrah!"' He said: 'Nothing, O Apostle of God, except the hope that I may be one of its people.' He said: 'You are indeed one of its people.'" He [Abu Hurayra] said: "And he ['Umavr] took out some dates from his quiver and began eating them. Then he said: 'If I live long enough to eat [all] my dates, my life will indeed be a long one!' So he flung away the remaining dates, and fought them until he was slain." Transmitted by Muslim.

(30) On the authority of Abu 'Imran, who said: "We were at the city of Rum [Constantinople], and they sent out a mighty column of Byzantines against us. A like number of Muslims, and even more, came out against them. 'Uqba b. Amir was at the head of the Egyptians, and Fadala b. 'Ubayd at the head of the entire force. One of the Muslims attacked the Byzantine column until he broke into it. The men shouted and said: “Glory be to God! He has cast himself into annihilation!” But Abu Ayyub al-Ansari rose and said: "Men, you interpret this verse in this manner, but it was sent down concerning only us, the band of the Ansar. When God made Islam powerful and its defenders grew numerous, some of us said to others in secrecy, but not to the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!): "Indeed our wealth has been lost, and God Almighty has made Islam powerful, while its defenders have grown numerous. What if we were to settle down with our wealth and make good what we have lost of it?" So God Almighty sent down an answer, rebutting what we had said, to His Prophet: "and do not be cast by your own hands into annihilation" [Q.2:195]. The "annihilation" was settling down with our wealth, augmenting it, and abandoning the campaign.' And Abu Ayyub went on faring in God's way until he was buried in the land of Rum. Transmitted by Al-Tirmidhi.

Notice, Brother, that Abu Ayyub was at an advanced age when he said this, having gone well past his youth and his middle years. And despite this, his heart, his spirit, and his faith were models for vigorous youth as support for God and the might of Islam.

(31) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him), on the authority of the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!), that he said: "He who dies without having gone on campaign, and without having exhorted himself to do so, dies in a species of hypocrisy." Transmitted by Muslim, Abu Da'ud, and many of their peers.

And there are precious Traditions on this subject and the like, as well as on campaigning by sea and its manifold superiority over campaigning by land, and on campaigning against the People of the Book.

June 18, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

If it's possible to "organize" Al-Banna's ahadith into themes, the previous theme could be described as the "benefits of martyrdom." This section of ahadith could be described as "significance of jihad." As he explains it: "Jihad is not against polytheists alone, but against all who do not embrace Islam."

(15) On the authority of 'Abd al-Khayr b. Thabit b. Qays b. Shammas, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, who said: "A woman came to the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) named Umm Khallad, wearing a veil, in order to ask him about a son of hers who had been slain in the way of God Almighty. One of his Companions said to her: 'Have you come to ask about your son, wearing a veil?' She said: 'If I have been bereft of my son, I shall not be bereft of my modesty.' The Prophet of God (May God bless and save him!) said to her: 'Your son has the reward of two martyrs.' She said: 'Why?' He said: 'Because he was killed by People of the Book.'" Published by Abu Da'ud.

"I am bereft of my son" = I have lost him and I am afflicted because of him.

In this Tradition, there is a clear indication of the obligation to fight the People of the Book, and of the fact that God doubles the reward of those who fight them. Jihad is not against polytheists alone, but against all who do not embrace Islam.

(16) On the authority of Sahl b. Hunayf (May God be pleased with him!): "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'He who asks God Almighty for martyrdom with sincerity, will be brought by God to the mansions of the martyrs, though he die in his bed.'" Published in the Five Books, but not by Al-BukharI.

(17) On the authority of Khuraym b. Fatik, who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'He who expends a sum in the way of God Almighty will have it accredited to his account seven hundredfold.'" Transmitted by Al-Tirmidhi, who designated it acceptable, and also by Al-Nasa'i.

(18) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "One of the Companions of the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) passed by a ravine in which there was a small fount of fresh water. He was greatly pleased by this, and said to himself: 'What if I were to withdraw from mankind and live in this ravine?' He mentioned this to the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him;), who said: 'Don't do iti When one of you takes his place in God's way, it is more excellent than if he prayed in his house for seventy years. Do you not wish that God forgive you and bring you into Paradise? Campaign in God's way: he who fights in God's way mounted on a camel must necessarily enter Paradise.'" Transmitted by Al-Tirmidhi.

"a small fount" = a small spring with plentiful water.

(19) On the authority of Al-Miqdam b. Ma'dikarib, who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'The martyr possesses six distinctions with respect to God: he is forgiven, first of all; he is shown his place in Paradise; he is secure from the supreme terror ]of judgment]; the crown of dignity is placed on his head, a single ruby of which is more precious than the entire world and all it contains; he is wedded to seventy-two of the wide-eyed houris; and he may intercede for seventy of his relatives.'" Transmitted by Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maja.

(20) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God Almighty be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'He who mee'ts God with no trace of jihad on him will meet God with a flaw in him.'" Transmitted by Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maja.

(21) On the authority of Anas (May God be pleased with him!), who said: The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'He who seeks martyrdom sincerely will be granted it, though it never touch him.'" Transmitted by Muslim.

(22) On the authority of 'Uthman b. 'Affan (May God be pleased with him!), on the authority of the Prophet (May God bless and save him!), who said: "He who bivouacs for one night in the way of God (Glorious and Almighty is He!) will be credited with a thousand nights of fasting and standing [in prayer]." Transmitted by Ibn Maja.

(23) On the authority of Abu '1-Darda'25 (May God be pleased with him!): "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him;) said: 'A campaign by sea is the equivalent of ten campaigns by land: he who is tossed about at sea is like one who wallows in his blood in the way of God (Glorious is He!)'" Transmitted by Ibn Maja.

"he is tossed about" = the ship veers and trembles and rocks under him.

In this Tradition, there is an allusion to a sea campaign, and the attention of the umma is drawn to the fact that it must take care to protect its coastline and strengthen its fleet. This applies by analogy to the air as well, and God will redouble many times over the reward of those who campaign by air in His way.

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

Al-Banna here continues his list of supporting ahadith. This list section he builds on the fourth hadith (see previous post) by focusing on the beauty of Paradise and various "distinguishing characteristics of the martyr."

(5) On the authority of 'Abd Allah b. Abl Awfa (May God be pleased with him!): "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him') said: 'Know ye that Paradise lies in the shadow of the swords.'" Published by the Two Shaykhs and Abu Da'ud.

(6) On the authority of Zayd b. Khalid al-Juhani (May God be pleased with him!): "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'He who outfits a warrior in the way of God Almighty has himself gone on campaign; and he who has supported a warrior [i.e., his family] in God's way through an act of benevolence, has himself gone on campaign.'" Transmitted by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud and Al-Tirmidhi. That is to say: "he obtains the reward for it."

(7) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'He who makes the endowment of a horse in God's way out of faith in God and belief in His promise [will find] the amount of fodder required to feed it, the amount of water required to water it, and its dung placed in his balance on the Day of Resurrection.'" Transmitted by Al-Bukhari. [And like the horse, all paraphernalia [given] in the way of God.]

(8) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him!). Some said: "0 Apostle of God, what is equal [in merit] to the Jihad in God's way?" He said: "You cannot do it." But they brought up the same thing before him two or three times more, and he said: "You cannot do it." Then he said: "The equal of the fighter in God's way is he who fasts standing and reciting God's verses, without interrupting his fast or his prayers, until the fighter in God's way returns"In the Six Books except for [that of] Abu Da'ud.

(9) On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'Shall I tell you who is the best of men and who is the worst? Among the best of men is he who toils in God's way on the back of his horse or camel, or on foot, until death comes to him. And among the worst of men is he who reads the Book of God Almighty, and remains unregenerate.'" Transmitted by Al-Nasa'i. "he remains unregenerate" = he does not check himself, nor does he admonish and reprove himself.

(10) On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "I heard the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) say: 'There are two eyes which the Fire shall not touch: the eye which wept for fear of God, and the eye which passed the night on guard in the way of God Almighty.'" From Al-Tirmidhi.

(11) On the authority of Abu 'Umayra (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'That I be slain in God's way is more pleasing to me than that all "the people of clay and hair" come over to me.'" Published by Al-Nasa'i.

(12) On the authority of Rashid b. Sa'd (May God be pleased with him!), on the authority of one of the Companions, that a man said: "O Apostle of God, how is it that the believers will be put to the test in their graves, except for the martyr?" And he said: "The glittering of swords over his head is test enough for him!" Published by Al-Nasa'i. This is one of the special distinctions of the martyr in battle, and just how many such distinctions there are will come out in what follows. Now listen!

(13) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him!): "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'The martyr feels nothing more from the sting of slaughter than any one of you feels from the sting of a gnat.'" [Transmitted by] Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa'i and Al- Darimi. Al-Tirmidhi designates it as acceptable, though resting solely on the authority of one Companion. This is another distinguishing characteristic of the martyr.

(14) On the authority of Ibn Masud (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'Our Lord (Blessed and Almighty is He!) is pleased with a man campaigning in God's way, who, when his companions are driven back, and knowing what the odds are, nevertheless returns [to the attack] until his blood is outpoured. Then God says to the angels: "See how My servant returned [to the attack] out of his desire for that which is of Me [as reward], and his apprehension of that which is from Me [as punishment], until his blood was outpoured. I call on you to witness that I have forgiven him."'" "apprehension" = fear, and "his blood was outpoured" = his blood flowed.

June 16, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

Unlike the Western approach to textual-based argumentation, Al-Banna's entire argument begins with sacred verses, using the traditional, time-honored hierarchy that organizes hallowed works with Quranic verses first, then ahadith (here called "Prophetic Traditions"), and completes his "supporting" materials section with commentary from respected scholars, ulema.

Having completed a "portion" of the Quranic verses "in which mention is made of jihad and its virtue set plainly forth." Al-Banna moves on to the ahadith. There are 31 used in the essay, and expect for a few etymological and exclamatory comments, Al-Banna offers very little substantive commentary.

Next will come some noble Prophetic Traditions on this matter.

A Sampling of Prophetic Traditions on Jihad

(1) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him;), who said: "I heard the Prophet (May God bless and save him!) say: "By Him who has my soul within His Hand, if it were not for some men of the believers who are not pleased to remain behind me - even when I can find nothing on which to mount them - I would not be absent from an-' military expeditions in God's way. And by Him who has my soul in His Hand, I would like to be slain in God's way, then live again, then be slain, then live again, then be slain, then live again, then be slain.'" Transmitted by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

(2) On the authority of Abu Hurayra (May God be pleased with him!): "The Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!) said: 'By Him who has my soul within His Hand, no one is vulnerated in God's way - and God knows best who is vulnerated in His way - but that he comes on the Day of Resurrection, the color being the color of blood, and the scent being the scent of musk.'" "vulnerate" = "wound," and "he is vulnerated" = "he is wounded"

(3) On the authority of Anas (May God be pleased with him!), who said: "My paternal uncle Anas b. al-Nadr was absent from the Battle of Badr, and he said: 'O Apostle of God, I was absent from the first battle in which you fought the polytheists. If God calls me to witness a battle with the polytheists, He shall surely see what I can do!' And when the Day of Uhud arrived, and the Muslims were put to flight, he said: 'My God, I ask pardon of Thee for what these (meaning his companions) have done, and I absolve myself before Thee of what those (meaning the polytheists) have done.' Then he pressed forward, was accosted by Sa'd b. Mu'adh, and said: “O Sa'd b. Mu'adh, Paradise and the Lord of Al-Nadr! I smell its scent from below Uhud!' Sa'd said: 'O Apostle of God, I was unable to do what he did.'" Anas said: "We found him with some eighty-odd sword cuts, or spear-thrusts, or wounds made by arrows, and we found that he had been killed and that the polytheists had mutilated him. No one recognized him but his sister, and that by his fingers." Anas said: "We used to think, or suppose, that this verse came down concerning him and his likes: 'Of the believers are men who were sincere in their covenant with God…'up to the end of the verse"[Q.33:23]. Transmitted by Al-Bukhari.

(4) On the authority of Umm Haritha ibn Suraqa; namely, that she went to the Prophet (May'God bless and save him!), and said: " O Prophet of God, will you not tell me of Haritha?" - now a stray (or unidentified) arrow had struck him before the Day of Badr - "For if he is in Paradise, I will bear [his loss] patiently. But if he is not there, I shall give myself over to weeping for him." He said: "O mother of Haritha, there are Paradises within Paradise, and your son has attained the most exalted Firdaws." Published by Al-Bukhari. "a stray (or unidentified) arrow" = one whose shooter is unknown. "I shall give myself over to weeping for him" = I shall weep bitterly.

Just see. Brother, how Paradise made them forget their cares and misfortunes, and enabled them to support adversities.

Al-Banna's last comment has a contemporary analog in jihadi media, where the death masks of dead jihadis are usually pictured with smiles on their faces, with the occasional halo.

June 14, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book
on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a
required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation
comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

This part completes Al-Banna's Quranic evidence used to justify the centrality of jihad in Muslim society. They constitute three complete suras (chapters) -- 9, 47 and 48 -- and are, according to Al-Banna, "some of the places in which mention is made of jihad and its virtue set plainly forth; and where the believers are urged to wage it."

(6) The "Sura of Repentance" [Q.9] too is in its entirety an exhortation to combat and a clear presentation of its rules. Suffice to quote what God (Blessed and Almighty is He!) says concerning warfare against perfidious polytheists: "Fight them, and God will punish them through your hands and humiliate them, and He will grant you victory over them, and heal the breasts of a believing people, and He will take away the wrath within their hearts, for God turns toward whom He will. God is Knowing, Wise" [Q.9: 14-15].

And His words (Blessed and Almighty is He!) concerning fighting with People of the Book: "Fight those who believe not in God nor in the Last Day, and who do not forbid what God and His Apostle have forbidden, or follow the religion of truth, being of those who were sent the Book, until they render tribute [jizya] out of their hands, humbling them¬ selves" [Q.9: 29]. Then the proclamation of the general muster in ringing and resounding verses, ending with His words (Almighty is He!): "March forth, light and heavy, and strive with your wealth and your persons in God's way! That is the best for you, if you have knowledge" [Q.9:41]. Then comes resounding disparagement of the attitude adopted by cowardly, despicable slackers, and their perpetual deprivation of the honor of jihad, in His words (Almighty is He!): "Those who were left behind rejoiced in remaining behind the Apostle of God, and hated to strive with their wealth and their persons in God's way. They said: 'Do not march forth in the heat!' Say: 'The fire of Jahannam is more vehemently hot, if they but knew!' So let them laugh a little, and let them weep much as a reward for what they were earning. Then if God bring thee back to a party of them, and they ask thy permission to go forth, say: 'You shall never go forth with me, nor shall you ever fight an enemy with me. You were pleased to remain inactive the first time, so remain inactive with those who stay behind.'" [Q.9: 81-83].

Then follows commendation of the attitude of those who wage jihad, at their head being their Noble Master (May God bless and save him'), and the declaration that this was his immaculate mission and the Sunna of his fortunate and glorious Companions, as He, the Almighty, says: "But the Apostle, and those who believe with him, have striven with their wealth and their persons, and those - for them there are good things: those - they are the prosperous. God has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, they remaining therein forever. That is the mighty victory" [Q.9: 88-89].

Then follows an oath of allegiance, all-embracing and allowing of no exception, which precludes any excuse for those who would exempt themselves, in His words (Almighty is He!): "Surely God has bought from the believers their persons and their wealth, in that Paradise is theirs: they fight in God's way and they slay and are slain, as a promise truly binding upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is more faithful in fulfilling his covenant than God? Therefore rejoice in the bargain you have concluded with Him; for that is the mighty victory" [Q.9: 111].

(7) The "Sura of Combat" [Q.47]. Just consider how an entire sura has been named the "Sura of Combat" in the Wise Book of God - and that the foundation of the military spirit consists, as they say, of two factors: obedience and discipline. God has summarized this foundation in two verses in His Book. As regards obedience, it appears in this sura where He, the Almighty, says: "Those who believe say: 'Why has not a sura been sent down? And when a precisely worded sura is sent down and fighting is mentioned in it, thou seest those in whose hearts there is sickness looking at thee with the look of one who swoons through death. More fitting for them are obedience and civil speech. And when the matter is resolved, if they behaved truthfully with God, it would be better for them" [Q.47:20-21]. As for discipline, it appears in the "Sura of the Ranks" [Q.61], where He, the Almighty, says: "Truly God loves those who fight in His way in ranks, as if they were a solidly constructed building" [Q.61: 4].

(8) The "Sura of Victory" [Q.48] is also dedicated in its entirety to one of the military campaigns of the Apostle of God (May God bless and save him!), and to the eulogy of a radiant occasion drawn from the many occasions of the august [Apostolic] jihad, which took place under the Shadow of the Blessed Tree where an oath of allegiance unto steadfastness and death was taken, and which bore the fruit of Tranquility and victory. This is what He, the Almighty, says: "God was pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to thee under the Tree, for He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down Tranquility upon them, and rewarded them with a speedy victory and plentiful spoil which they could seize. God is always August, Wise" [Q.48: 18-19].

These, Brother, are some of the places in which mention is made of jihad and its virtue set plainly forth; and where the believers are urged to wage it, and those who do so are given the good tidings of the magnificent reward and the fair recompense granted therefor. The Book of God is filled with examples like these, and if you leaf through it and take heed of what appears in it on this subject, you will behold a wonder of wonders, and you will be astounded at the negligence of the Muslims in taking advantage of this reward.

June 11, 2008

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna published his treatise "On Jihad" in the late 1930s. In his book on the group, Brynjar Lia notes that the treatise eventually "became a required part of the Muslim Brothers' curriculum." This translation comes from Wendell's 1977 collection, Five Tracts of Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), and is the only one available that has not been sanitized for Western audiences.

In this part Al-Banna goes on to build the theological case for jihad. In traditional rhetorical form he begins by reciting and explicating eight verses from the Quran ("God's Book"). He'll then move on to recite and explain specific ahadith ("Prophetic Traditions"). I'm reproducing here his explanation of the first five Quranic verses. The sixth, seventh, and eighth verses are much more detailed and will be covered in the next posting.

From the Noble Qur'an, the Speech of the Almighty:

A Selection of Verses Dealing with Jihad in God's Book

(1) "Fighting is prescribed for you, though it be detestable to you. But it may be that you detest something which is good for you, and it may be that you love something which is bad for you. God knows, and you do not know" [Q. 2:216].

He explains what is meant by “prescribed”

"Prescribed" means "ordered," as when the Almighty says: "Prescribed for you is the fast," in the same sura, employing the same expression and usage.

(2) "O ye who believe, be not like those who disbelieve and say to their brethren, when they journey through the land or take part in military expeditions: 'If they had stayed with us, they would neither have died nor been slain.' - so that God may make this an affliction in their hearts. For God dispenses both life and death, and God is well aware of what you do. For if you are slain in God's way, or die, forgiveness from God and mercy are better than what you amass. And surely if you die, or are slain, it is unto God that you shall be gathered" [Q.3: 156-58].

His teaching on this verse follows...

The meaning of "journey through the land" is "they went out into it, waging jihad"; and "in military expeditions" means "as fighters for the faith, waging war."

Notice how "forgiveness" and "mercy" are associated with slaying and death in God's way in the first verse, and how the second verse is devoid of this association, because it is devoid of the idea of jihad. In this verse, there is an intimation of the fact that cowardice is one of the characteristic moral traits of unbelievers, but not of believers. And notice how the [order of the words in the] verse has been inverted.

He gives no explanation for the third verse used. Rather he notes to “refer to the remaining verses in the Book.”

(3) "Do not reckon those who have been slain in God's way as dead. Nay, rather they are alive with their Lord, granted sustenance, gladdened by the bounty God has given them, and rejoicing for those who have not yet joined them and remain behind, in that no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve" [Q.3:169-75]. Refer to the remaining verses in the Book.

(4) "So let those fight in the way of God who sell the life of this world for the next, and he who fights in God's way and is slain or overcomes. We shall provide him with a mighty wage" [Q.4:74]. Q.4, the verses beginning from 71 to 78.

Refer to these verses in the Noble Book, so that you may see how God urges the Muslims to exercise caution and to acquire experience in warfare, in armies and troops, or as individuals, as circumstances may dictate. And how He upbraids the slackers, cowards, truants, and opportunists, and how He arouses our zeal to protect the weak and secure the wronged, and how He conjoins warfare with prayer and fasting, showing clearly that it, like these two, is one of the Pillars of Islam. Then how He refutes the specious arguments of the waverers, and encourages the fearful to the utmost degree to plunge into the uproar of battle and to face death unflinchingly and bravely, showing them that death must overtake them in any event, and that if they die waging jihad, they will receive the most magnificent recompense for their lives, and that they "shall not be wronged to the extent of a single date-fiber" [Q.4:74] of their contribution or sacrifice.

The fifth Quranic example is not a verse, but a whole chapter (sura) that he describes as “an exhortation to combat and a behest to remain steadfast…”

(5) The "Sura of the Spoils" [Q.8] is in its entirety an exhortation to combat and a behest to remain steadfast [while engaged] in it, as well as a clear presentation of many of its rules. It is for this reason that the first Muslims (May God's grace be upon them!) adopted it as a military anthem which they would chant whenever their apprehensions mounted and the battle grew grim. Suffice it to quote what God (Blessed and Almighty is He!) says: "And prepare against them such force and troops of horses as you can, by which to frighten the enemies of God and your enemies" [Q.8:60], up to His words (Almighty is He!): "O Prophet, rouse the believers to fight! If there are of you twenty steadfast men, they will overcome two hundred; if there are a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of the unbelievers, for they are a people who have no understanding" [Q.8:65].

June 10, 2008

In Tuesday's police action, Operacion Submarino, four suspects were arrested in the northern city of Pamplona, three were arrested in Barcelona and one was captured in the north-east province of Castellon...

Ten other people were detained by Spanish police and suspected of helping the eight who were arrested.

So far in 2008, 27 suspected Islamist militants have been detained in Spain, most of them of Moroccan and Algerian descent.

From France: news that the Union of Islamic Organisations in France (UOIF), a Muslim Brotherhood front group, has gained political ground within the government's authorized Muslim organization:

Considered part of the global Muslim Brotherhood movement which seeks to introduce elements of Islamic law by political means, the UOIF took 30 percent of the vote, making it the second force on the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM).

It came behind the Moroccan-linked Rally of French Muslims (RMF) which won 43 percent of votes, and ahead of the Turkish Muslim federation on 12 percent, official figures showed.

The CFCM's 41 elected and 17 permanent board members now vote on June 22 to elect a new head since the two-term incumbent, the moderate rector of the Paris mosque Dalil Boubakeur, is not standing.

The Muslim council was set up five years ago by then interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy to bring together the rival currents in French Islam.

But tensions between Algerians, the larger community with an estimated 3.5 million people in France, and Moroccans, numbered at one million, have hobbled the project from the start.

June 06, 2008

With premature talk of the demise of al Qaida, a few rays of sanity should help inspire the more thoughtful bloggers to consider the "natural history" of other Islamic terror groups, like Hamas. The current issue of the Journal of Palestine Studies has made Part 1 of their interview with Khalid Mishal, aka Abu Walid, available without subscription. You click away from the interview with a deeper appreciation of how resilient these movements are to practically every attempt to rationalize their motives and actions.